India bans popular Nestlé instant noodles after finding excessive lead

India’s food safety regulator today banned the sale and production of Nestlé’s Maggi instant noodles over a health scare after tests found they contained excessive lead levels.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said tests by some states had found too much lead in the product, and ordered Nestlé to halt manufacturing.

In a statement, it said it was ordering Nestlé India to “withdraw and recall all the nine approved variants of its Maggi Instant Noodles from the market... and stop further production”.

Nestlé, which says the lead content in its Maggi noodles is well below India’s legal limit, had already withdrawn the product from sale as it tries to contain the growing scandal.

Today its global chief executive Paul Bulcke said the product was “safe for consumption”. “We decided to take off the noodles from the shelves as there was confusion about the safety,” he said at a press conference in New Delhi.

“The safety of our consumers is paramount. We are working with the authorities to clear up this confusion.”